What Kind of Journalist am I?

What kind of journalist are you?

In short, I don’t know yet. I’d like to imagine myself as an investigative journalist, uncovering government corruption and exposing injustice. I think the main reason I wanted to apply for a degree in journalism in the first place was so that I could make some sort of significant social or societal change and make a genuine impact on people’s lives.

 

What topics are you most interested in as a journalist?

I’d say that world news and social issues are the major topics that I’m interested in. If my current twitter use was an accurate representation of where I’d be in the future, then it would still be for calling out political figures for stupid things they may have done or said (90% Donald Trump because it’s too easy). I’m also interested in political ideologies, whether its researching what my fellow lefties have been saying or researching new movements within the political right. Most recently I’ve been looking into arguments of the alt right and noting the language its speakers have.

 

Which blogs, news sites, apps, and forums cover these topics best?

For looking into political and social news I enjoy using platforms to compare how stories are reported. My main sources I use for reading these stories are usually the generic major news sites, such as BBC News, Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Independent. I prefer using these major news outlets as they’re usually better researched and written compared to smaller blogs (or at least so I think now), as well as the fact based, impersonal feeling you may lose reading some blogs. Two of my favourite American political publications are Politico and The Hill, both outlets producing high quality and relevant stories. 

From time to time (just for fun) I’ll read about social issues on far right wing sites, such as Breitbart, to see how differently the same story or issue can be reported on depending solely on the author’s political bias. 

Another source I’ve been using to keep up with world news (mainly American) for years now has been the Philip DeFranco Show on YouTube. While this is not journalism it did spank my interest in world news years ago and continues to keep me informed on American affairs. 

Another outlet I’ve been using most recently to read personal social justice pieces has been Medium. In the past few years, Medium has been used by amateur professionals to report on more human news, creating a more personal feeling journalism platform. 

 

Do you have any hobbies or interests in addition to the topics you have chosen?

Aside from politics and social issues, I’d say my other key interests lie in indie rock and alternative music since I have been listening to the genre actively since I was 13 and I used to play in a band, doing gigs in Manchester. It’s been a procrastinated plan of mine to start a blog for this, mainly for my own entertainment, looking into new releases, events, and reviewing new albums.

 

Which blogs, news sites, apps and forums cover those topics best?

For news on rock and alternative music, I used to buy subscriptions to the music magazine Kerrang! but I found that they wrote about too many bands I wasn’t interested in and the style of writing used made my cringe, leading me to rely mainly on digital sources. Now I prefer reading online articles by Rock Sound or Rolling Stone since they’re generally better written and have more in depth pieces on bands I’m more interested in. 

One music reviewer I really enjoy is The Needle Drop, now a very successful YouTube channel and blog. Part of what makes this specific blog so great is the community feeling that follows the blog across platforms, be it YouTube, Instagram, Reddit… Fuelling this massive community, blog author and creator of The Needle Drop, Anthony Fantano, injects his own wholesome and humorous personality into his multimedia content.